Maverick Vinales explains unusual ‘Batman’ celebration

Vinales was first seen wearing a ‘Batman’-like costume in the cool-down room after finishing second to reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Vinales then walked out to the podium with the outfit on before explaining the meaning behind it in the post-race press conference. 

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“It’s a joke with the team,” said Vinales. “They bet with me about going to the podium twice and without two X’s (refers to not finishing) but I did it. 

“The background with that is the synergy we have in the team and between both sides of the garage. 

“We also try to enjoy ourselves and it’s fantastic. I’m just trying to become what I want to become.”

Like in the sprint, Vinales was a contender for victory before being beaten by a Ducati.

On Saturday it was Jorge Martin who got the better of the Aprilia rider, before Bagnaia did the same during the closing stages of Sunday’s main race.. 

Speaking about Martin, who held a three second lead prior to crashing out, Vinales said: “He was very fast in the beginning. Maybe I could follow him for five-six laps but I knew that I wouldn’t arrive to the last-lap of the race. 

“I just tried to control [the pace], the rear tyre and rear temperature because Saturday I had a huge drop. 

“I needed to make a controlled race the whole time and luckily I started well. I had a lot of room to work well on the gas. 

“It’s something we struggled with here but we don’t usually struggle with. But I’m very proud of the job we are doing. Of course, I want to win badly but it will arrive. It’s a matter of time.”

In terms of winning, Vinales is still without victory for the Italian brand although he came within a few tenths of making that a reality.

Vinales is yet to win with Aprilia although he came within a few tenths of changing that during Sunday’s race.  

But while he appeared to have more pace than Bagnaia at some stages, Vinales felt as though the championship leader was controlling the gap.

“He was under control,” stated Vinales. “Maybe too much in the last-lap [laughs]. But he was controlling. I don’t know. 

“The only thing I was thinking because I saw Fabio [Quartararo] recover one second in one lap, was that if I made a mistake he would overtake me and then I wouldn’t have the chance to overtake him again.”